Mystery Material Sickens Two City Trash Collectors
Fire crews spent four hours Friday trying - unsuccessfully - to find the mystery material that made two garbage men sick during a stop in Spokane’s West Central neighborhood.
Fred Stauffer and Rick Keaton, who work for the city’s Solid Waste Department, said they became nauseated while picking up garbage at 1111 W. Augusta.
Stauffer told fire officials he moved a pile of trash near an old refrigerator behind the house and immediately felt dizzy. Keaton, who was driving the truck, also reported feeling light-headed.
As they drove away from the house, the feeling got worse and Stauffer had trouble breathing. They pulled into a fast-food restaurant at Monroe and Indiana, only a few blocks from the bright purple house on Augusta.
“They definitely got in touch with something, something that went to work on them like that,” police Sgt. Dean Sprague said, snapping his fingers. “We have no idea what.”
The garbage men were sent to the house Friday after the owner, Kathleen Henry, 51, was ordered by a judge to clean up her property. If she doesn’t, the house will be demolished. She sent for the crews to remove some of her trash as a first step toward compliance, officials said.
The house was condemned, and its water and electricity shut off, on Oct. 20, 1994. Although no one was supposed to be living in the house, a 23-year-old man was inside when police and hazardous materials crews arrived.
For nearly an hour, John Joseph refused to come out of the house, let police in or answer questions about what could have caused the workers to become sick.
When owner Henry arrived, Joseph finally walked outside and talked with police, who searched him and handcuffed him because he was becoming belligerent.
“You’re not going to find anything in there, there’s nothing inside,” Joseph said loudly to police. “This isn’t right.”
Henry, whose relationship to Joseph wasn’t clear, tried to quiet him. “You need an attitude adjustment,” she snapped.
Both waited while hazardous materials crews searched the house and poked through piles of garbage in the back yard. Except for rat poison and fertilizer, they found nothing hazardous.
The crews planned to search the garbage truck, which was taken to the Waste to Energy plant on Geiger Boulevard.
xxxx The troubles at 1111 W. Augusta Kathleen Henry paid $15,000 for her house at 1111 W. Augusta in 1976. Since then, city officials have compiled a 6-inch file and spent thousands of dollars trying to make Henry clean up the place. Here are some of the details in the city’s file: Spokane County Health District condemned the 1906 house on Feb. 3, 1983. Henry was allowed to return on Jan. 13, 1984, after cleaning out some garbage. The city ordered the yard cleaned up in February 1990, after neighbors complained about a strong stench of urine and garbage. Inspectors found the yard cluttered with three refrigerators, six bicycles, three couches and other junk. The U.S. Postal Service stopped delivering Henry’s mail in 1991, saying piles of garbage made the front porch a hazard. A mail carrier complained about dead animals on the porch, but could not identify the species. The city again ordered Henry to clean up the yard in June 1992. She ignored the order, so city crews hauled away old tires, junk lumber, bicycles and garbage. They ordered Henry to get rid of four junk cars and mow the lawn. Henry accused garbage collectors of stealing her possessions. City inspectors last July found garbage, junk and open containers of rotting food from the basement to the second floor. The wooden floor was slick with animal urine and feces. People slept on the kitchen floor and a litter of kittens slept in a cupboard. The bathtub was filled with garbage, and crawling with ants and flies. A dead mouse in a bedroom apparently had been stomped. Outside, maggots spilled out when inspectors opened a discarded refrigerator filled with rotting meat. Two people lived in a trailer that also was used as a garbage can. City inspectors gave Henry 14 days to clean up the house last August. In October, a fire investigator boarded up the house, and shut off the water and electricity. A Judge in November ordered the house demolished. Henry appealed that decision and was given a strict time line for cleaning up the house and yard. She has until November to complete the work. -Dan Hansen
The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Bonnie Harris staff writer Staff writer Dan Hansen contributed to this report.